AS torrents of tributes poured in for the late Olubadan of Ibadan Oba Lekan Balogun, his brother Sen. Kola Balogun, has revealed that despite achieving all he set his eyes on as a man, the late Olubadan could not fulfill his dream of being the first monarch to inhabit the new multi-billion Naira Olubadan palace.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, and his deputy, Benjamin Kalu, also mourned the passage of the late monarch.

Balogun disclosed this in a chat with The Nation on Saturday.

The senator, who operated as the late monarch’s right-hand man while on the throne, said his brother had planned to move into the palace but that the need to first commission it delayed his movement while death came in suddenly to join him with his ancestors.

Balogun, who represented Oyo South in the Ninth Senate, explained that there was nothing the monarch desired in life that he did not get except that of moving to the new palace, which would have been historical.

The Nation gathered that the Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes (CCII) which championed the building of the palace, had scheduled the commissioning of the palace for the third week in March but that it was rescheduled for June to enable all critical stakeholders to attend.

But Balogun described the unfulfilled dream as that of everyone in the family and the entire Olubadan-In-Council because everybody acknowledged and respected Oba Balogun’s extraordinary commitment to the completion of the palace and his interest in moving there as against the popular belief that Ibadan Obas prefer to use their houses as palace as a way of bringing royalty to the family compound for honour and historical significance.

Balogun described his brother’s two-year reign as qualitative, which was a source of pride for members of his family.

He recalled how Oba Balogun stopped the violence in Ibadan by establishing the Mogaji Peace Initiative.

He also told The Nation that Oba Balogun slashed the chieftaincy fee by over 75 percent to make things easy for intending candidates.

Abbas, deputy mourn late monarch

The Speaker of the House of Representatives Abbas, described as shocking the demise of the late Olubadan.

He described Oba Balogun’s exit as a great loss to the historical Ibadan land, noting that the late Olubadan was able to stabilise the polity and restore peace to Ibadanland during his two-year reign.

While commiserating with the Balogun family, Olubadan-in-Council, Ibadan people, the people, and the government of Oyo State, the Speaker prayed to Allah to grant Oba Balogun Jannatul Firdaus.

Also, Deputy Speaker of the House, Benjamin Kalu recalled the active years of the highly respected monarch in politics, saying that he contributed immensely to the socio-political development of his State. (The Nation)

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